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[TheBoy]

oh yes snapped my lug clean off changing top hose !!

The mounting bracket?  Looks in tact, but even if that snapped, would it cause leak?

[TheBoy]

Went out to play in the snow, pressurised up the coolant with a modified cap.

Getting about 1 drip pre sec of coolant (well it tastes sweet, and has the pinky/greeny tinge to it!) from the passenger side manifold to cat join bolt.  Also seems to be drips forming around oil filter/crank sensor area, but not actually dripping.  The car hasn't been started since Wednesday, so wouldn't be caused by airflow etc.




In the valley, I can't make up my mind if I have the tiniest weep from dowty washer (top right in pic below).  The is dampness around rear cooler pipe to cooler, but this might be due to weep from dowty? Or possible both these are caused by melting snow dripping everywhere  :-/


There is a slight dampness in the valley, but certainly not wet.  Again, not sure if this is normal, or expected after 5 days of non use, and melting snow dripping everywhere?

[TheBoy]

This piccy shows where I think the leak may be coming from (red lines):


They is a gap between the little block and the manifold which I think is the wettest area. The blue line points to what looks like a stud of something, also wet. Can't see if its wet behind the lower manifold heat shield.

Is the blue line pointing to a broken stud?

[TheBoy]

Saying that, wondering if the majority of the coolant that is dripping is coming from above manifold area - ie, running along top of manifold, then down to where it can be seen dripping from  :-/

[markey mark]

looking at that 1 you have a manifold bolt sheared ! 2 you have some sort of leak in valley 3 dowty seals look suspect ! i think it dripping off manifold is just were it is finding its way down and dripping off deffo higher up that that jaime  

[TheBoy]

looking at that 1 you have a manifold bolt sheared ! 2 you have some sort of leak in valley 3 dowty seals look suspect ! i think it dripping off manifold is just were it is finding its way down and dripping off deffo higher up that that jaime  

Its jacked up nearside, so woulding valley leaks drip off drivers side?

[Kevin Wood]

If the water is running off the manifold it has to have come from higher up, maybe out of the valley, and dripped down.

The only place you're likely to get a coolant leak is from a head gasket or core plug (lower down than manifold) or the components in the valley. :-/

Is it possible that water has run down from the valley? Can't quite picture how far forward that spot is from the rear end of the valley. Is there any sign of damp running round or through the bell housing area? Can you get to either end of the valley and see if they are dry? If so, that eliminates the valley components.

I guess a head gasket could drip onto the downpipe flange but further up the manifold it should be dry.

I think my next step would be to check for water exiting the rear of the valley somehow. Try and eliminate that or use a rag to take out any slight leakage and see if you still get water running down the exhaust manifold.

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

I have to say that the whole of the valley area looks a bit shitty.....

[Big_Roger]

Hi,
There cannot be many places to check now !!

Although the valley area components look a bit naff, there arn't any leaks showing that would produce 1 drip per sec. I agree that jacked up N/S would make anything run down to drivers side area.

However, considering the slope of the cylinder head, I reckon you have to check around the area where the transfer pipe goes into the thermostat housing, but I must admit I would expect any leak to run along the underside of the transfer pipe and show where the rubber hose fits on.

Other than that, I think you have to get the heat shield off to see if the HG is leaking manifold side, and it is running along the top of the manifold.

Roger

[TheBoy]

I have to say that the whole of the valley area looks a bit naffty.....

The photo makes it look wetter than it actually is - just general grime.  Defo a small weep from coolant bridge on drivers bank.  Nowhere near enough to account for the drips underneath.

I guess the cooler plate right at back could be leak more than I can see, but the angle the car was at wouldn't let it drip where it did?

Next stage to reseal the cooler plate (will I need a new cooler?), and coolant bridge?  Should I replace stat or just reseal?  What about doing the transfer pipe that is around the back of the engine (how?)

[TheBoy]

If the water is running off the manifold it has to have come from higher up, maybe out of the valley, and dripped down.

The only place you're likely to get a coolant leak is from a head gasket or core plug (lower down than manifold) or the components in the valley. :-/

Is it possible that water has run down from the valley? Can't quite picture how far forward that spot is from the rear end of the valley. Is there any sign of damp running round or through the bell housing area? Can you get to either end of the valley and see if they are dry? If so, that eliminates the valley components.

I guess a head gasket could drip onto the downpipe flange but further up the manifold it should be dry.

I think my next step would be to check for water exiting the rear of the valley somehow. Try and eliminate that or use a rag to take out any slight leakage and see if you still get water running down the exhaust manifold.

Kevin

Only sign of leak on bellhousing is where it has dripped from area shown in photo, which is what makes me think its not valley?

[Big_Roger]

Hi,
If you havn't had problems with cooling temp control, then don't change the thermostat, just fit a new seal ring. You will have to remove the transfer pipe to remove the thermostat anyway, so will need new seal rings for this as well.

The thermostat / transfer pipe job is not as bad as all that. Granted access is restricted and awkward, but its not hard to do.

They can be a sod if the transfer pipe is siezed into the thermostat housing. You are then looking at grinding or drilling into the thermostat housing to split it to get the pipe out.

BUT. If all goes well it really is no more than getting the bolt out that holds the transfer pipe, turning the pipe anti/clock (to get the lug from behind the oil dipstick pipe) with Mole grips or Stilson, and pulling out.

It's getting the dammn thing back and the bolt in that's the most  trouble.

Yes reseal the cooler plate and bridge while you have it all accessible, but I would re pressurize and be really sure where the leak is before I started doing all that.

Pack loads of absorbant paper round where you think it may be on the cooler plate, and see if it stops dripping from aroung the manifold.

Roger

[Ironingboard]

I have to say that the whole of the valley area looks a bit naffty.....

The photo makes it look wetter than it actually is - just general grime.  Defo a small weep from coolant bridge on drivers bank.  Nowhere near enough to account for the drips underneath.

I guess the cooler plate right at back could be leak more than I can see, but the angle the car was at wouldn't let it drip where it did?

Next stage to reseal the cooler plate (will I need a new cooler?), and coolant bridge?  Should I replace stat or just reseal?  What about doing the transfer pipe that is around the back of the engine (how?)

I'm having flashbacks of my car when reading this post boy. I had a leak on my Omega, bugger to find. It wasn't loosing as much as your one but you could take a look at my post

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1203346440/15#15

Managed to fix it by replacing the thermostat, coolant was leaking from around the edges of the thermostate housing. There's a channel where the coolant can travel down the front of the engine near where the exhaust manifold is. You can see it on the pictures in my previous post,  underneath the pipe.

[TheBoy]

Paper towel around stat, stuffed in under top rad hose to transfer pipe, stuff behind V, and stuffed between plate and heads all stay dry when pressurised, and leak still dripping.

[Big_Roger]

Hi,
I am as flummoxed as much as I am sure you are.

I can't think of any joint on that area of the cyl head to leak that would leak onto the top of the manifold, let alone run along the top of it.  A leak on HG joint would seep out below the manifold.

Does anyone know if any of the manifold fixing studs go through into the water jacket of the cyl head ?? I don't remember seeing any core plugs or holes blanked off anywhere on the cyl head.

Looks like you have to get to remove the heatshield to see above the manifold properly, preferably while you can still pressurise the system and before before getting drastic like taking cyl head off.

Don't do any major strip down untill you have located this leak. I remember many years ago (40 at least!!) thinking it was just a HG leaking, and would be fixed with new HG, meticulously refurbished engine bottom and top end, but to no avail, got it going again and found it was a minute crack in cyl head that was the leak.


Roger